In 2000, Havill & Company published a nationally
syndicated market research study entitled: “The Commercial Fleet
Market Forecast: 1999-2001”[1].The research
found that over 30

percent of all trucks and buses are owned by businesses. Including sedans, there are an estimated 17.3 million vehicles
owned
by business that, in total, own

four

or more vehicles.
These vehicles are owned by over 1.1 million businesses.A breakout of the 4+ fleet market by class of vehicle (Sedans and
LD, MD, HD Trucks) and market segment (Agriculture, Construction,
Manufacturing, Wholesale, Retail, Short Haul, Long Haul, Utility, Service,
and Government) is shown below.

As
the table below indicates the commercial fleet market is very fragmented.All types of businesses operate commercial vehicles.Government entities account for the largest number of vehicles (3.8
million) followed by construction companies (3.3 million) and service
related businesses (2.6 million).Ironically
the long haul segment accounts for the fewest number of vehicles in the
four-plus fleet market.

As
a business-to-business marketer, one would have to ask,
"Am I getting my
fair share of the opportunity within my market?"To be actionable, this market opportunity data must also be
available at the regional and local levels.Unfortunately, most marketers do not have an accurate measure of
the opportunity available to them.As
a result, marketing and sales efforts are shortchanged.Sometimes marketers focus primarily on the biggest accounts
while missing the small and medium sized businesses that aren’t as
visible but represent a substantial potential nonetheless.Other times, entire business segments are excluded simply because
“no one thought to market to those types of businesses.”

Understanding
your market potential is half the puzzle.Identifying the characteristics of your profitable customers is
equally important.A variety
of business demographics can be considered when profiling your good
customers including:credit
ratings, number of employees, years in business, SIC codes, etc.Once you have identified common characteristics among your
profitable customers, you can then solicit prospects within your market
that “look like” your good customers.To see these ideas put to action, read the
letter from the
author.

[1]
Research findings were based on a survey of 1,600 fleet operators across
the country.The results
were projected to the national population using federal vehicle and fuel
consumption statistics from the Census Bureau and the Federal
Departments of Energy and Transportation.

In 2000, Havill & Company published a nationally
syndicated market research study entitled: “The Commercial Fleet Market
Forecast: 1999-2001”.As a
courtesy, you are receiving an excerpt from this syndicated study because
you serve the transportation industry.Please refer to our privacy policy if you do not wish to receive
these market research report excerpts.

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